Review by (hidden by request)
(review was emailed from domain JPSO.com)
lodged 11.8 years ago
 New Orleans,Jefferson,LA
 $50 per month "Excellent documentation, good phone support" "Good value for a great service."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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Sirs,
I recently had ADSL service installed at my home through BellSouth and I
would like to give you a review of the whole process:
ORDERING: BellSouth ran a promotion (which ended 4/15/00) offering a free
ADSL modem and allowing the customer to install it themselves. I ordered my
modem and accessories on 3/15 and they promised delivery in 8-10 business
days. On 3/31, I hadn't received anything so I called to inquire about the
order status. After a little hemming and hawing on their part, they promised
shipment in 2-3 days and I did take delivery on 4/5. The package contained a
SpeedStream 3060 internal DSL modem + software, BellSouth FastAccess
software, five phone line filters, a phone line splitter and documentation,
the most important of which is an excellent step-by-step installation guide
(w/ pictures) and a 24 hour toll-free help line.
INSTALLATION: One requirement which was not made clear either in the
promotional literature or the enclosed documents was that a dial-up modem is
necessary to set up the FastAccess account. Anticipating the immediate use
of the DSL modem to handle this task, I was required to purchase and install
a dial-up modem to get started. Once this was done, setting up the
FastAccess account with BellSouth went smoothly. Next, the SpeedStream modem
was installed along with the enclosed filters on each of the voice lines in
the house which have phones on them. (NOTE: I was told later by BellSouth
that the DSL modem works best when installed in the first PCI slot.) Next,
the modem software was installed and that was supposed to be it. The
FastAccess icon which was supposed to be in my Dial-Up Networking folder was
not there but instead there was a Bellsouth.net icon. Time to call the help
desk. The service rep I spoke to was patient and seemingly knowledgeable.
When I told him of the problem, he immediately recognized it as a bug in the
installation software and walked me through the steps to correct it. I wound
up removing my network card and deleting some entries from my Network device
listing and going through a series of reboots. The whole procedure took
about 20-30 minutes but was very painless and resulted in a working ADSL
connection which was last running at 1.45M bits per second. The speed is
truely amazing--it is notably faster than even the T1 line at my office!
BOTTOM LINE: I consider myself a moderate to advanced PC user and I would
have to say that my overall experience in dealing with BellSouth on this
installation was very positive. However, it remains to be seen how well the
service performs.
Milton Dureau, Jr.
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